MIAMI - Michael Conforto received his wish and will continue to get at-bats in the majors.

As Juan Lagares returned to the team for Thursday’s game against Miami, the Mets kept Conforto and instead optioned reliever Paul Sewald to Class AAA Las Vegas. Team officials believe it’s better for Conforto to get regular at-bats, but recognized the importance of having him as the primary lefty bat off the bench.

“I really believe that the best thing for my development is for me to play against the best in the world, to play at this level and to consistently face these guys. I think that’s going to be the best thing for me,” Conforto said. “Playing every day, that’s definitely going to be a positive for me. But if I’m down there just kind of tearing it up, maybe some of that benefit goes to waste a little bit. Like I said, this is where I need to be and I’m excited to be here.”

Conforto entered Thursday batting .400 with two homers in 10 at-bats, and homered in Wednesday’s 5-4 win over Philadelphia.

“He really hasn’t done anything that we didn’t expect but the one thing he has done is show us that he can handle the role off the bench. That’s been a big factor,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “In spring training when the discussion was who do we keep because we needed a left-handed bat, obviously his name was at the top of the list even though Brandon Nimmo’s was there and everybody else. He’s a guy who gives us a lot of options and to the other teams he’s dangerous and they know it.”

While Conforto is not guaranteed regular starts, Collins will try to keep him in the mix.

“It’s hard because I’m a development kind of guy, that’s what my background is but right now I’m a winning kind of guy and (the starting outfielders) have huge track records going for them,” Collins said. “We’ll do the best we can to try to keep him sharp and hope nobody gets hurts but if they do we certainly have a quality backup.”

Lagares did not start Thursday, but Collins expects him to start Friday against southpaw Adam Conley. Lagares missed time with a strained left oblique.

“I feel 100 percent, I feel good,” Lagares said. “When it happened I felt a little bit and it’s why I try to keep it there to not lose too much time.”

Briefs

Slumping veteran Jose Reyes did not start for the second time in six games with T.J. Rivera starting in his place. Reyes entered Thursday 2-for-37 on the season, and Collins said Reyes will “probably” be back in the lineup Friday. Reyes also will start at shortstop some point during the final three games of the series. ...Collins said the plan for suspended reliever Jeurys Familia is to pitch in a minor league game Saturday and then pitch for Class AA Binghamton on Monday. He can return next Thursday. ...Outfielder Brandon Nimmo is not close to returning to the team as he’s dealing with a hand/wrist injury.